Wax replica of David Beckham Photos: Li Jingjing/GT

Wax replica of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's

 

Wax replica of Michael Jackson

Wax replica of Huang Xiaoming

Wax replica of Li Bingbing

 

 

Now it's easier than ever for people in Beijing to take a picture with their favorite superstars, as Madame Tussauds Wax Museum has finally come to the capital with its collection of wax figures. Unveiled on May 29, this is the fourth Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in China after Shanghai, Hong Kong and Wuhan.

With the hope of meeting with my favorite stars and excited at the prospect of taking some selfies with them, I decided to head down to the museum to take a look myself.

Approaching the museum I noticed that the building was decorated with red lanterns and a rickshaw in order to better fit in with Beijing's Qianmen street, a scenic area south of Tiananmen Square that exudes a rich atmosphere of old Beijing.

Already open for less than a month, the museum was bustling with activity, showing just how popular the museum had become. However, while such a global renowned tourist spot is certainly a welcome addition to the city, the museum has raised certain doubts in some visitors, including myself.

Less realistic Asian stars?

To be more localized, the Beijing museum has added a handful of influential Chinese figures from entertainment, sports and business circles.

Looking at the wax figure of one handsome looking Asian figure, it took me a few moments before I realized this was famed Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming. While the statue shared some similarities with Huang, like the contours of his face and the gesture the statue was making, it looked a lot uglier and older. The same was true for the wax figures of other Asian superstars like Jay Chou, Li Binging and Teresa Teng; they all looked like fake mannequins you'd find in a store window.

A visitor named Shi Shengjun shared how she felt about the depictions of the Asian stars, "Some are realistic and some very normal. It's hard too say which part is wrong, but it's kind of like the feeling you get when you meet someone who had some minor plastic surgery." She pointed out that Jackie Chan, Yang Lan and Yao Ming were all quite realistic, whereas Carina Lau, Huang Xiaoming and Li Bingbing were the least realistic.

This is not the first time that wax figures of Asian stars have looked incredibly peculiar. The wax figure of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, which is exhibited in the Hong Kong Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, is almost a joke. The wax portrays her role in Future X-cops (2010), but the figure's wry face makes me wonder if Hsu was genuinely happy when unveiling her own wax figure.

An article in Bazzar Entertainment magazine also mocked some of the figures, "Carina Lau has been carved into Cai Ming (a Chinese female comedian). Do you think I'm blind?" Posting a picture of a terrible looking Madame Tussauds statue of Jay Chou, it joked that the sculptor was sure to be killed by the singer's numerous fans.

However not all the statues were poor reflections of the real thing, there were also Asian celebrities that were quite close to real life, like Yang Liwei, Yang Lan and Jackie Chan.

Amazingly realistic Western celebs

Contrasting with the jokes many of the wax figures of Asian stars are, the statues of Western celebrities should be awarded, since they are almost all amazingly realistic.

Looking at the wax figure of Daniel Craig wearing a black suit as he stood in front of a board with James Bond printed on it, I was almost deluded into thinking that Craig himself was walking the red carpet at the premiere for Skyfall.

Reaching the statue of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, I tried to get really close to the president's face to see if I could find any flaws. To my surprise, the figure was extremely detailed, capturing even very light freckles, eyelashes and eyebrows, and even a slight five o'clock shadow underneath the skin. Even the eyes were focused, looking directly into his eyes, it feels like they are looking right back at you.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Prince William and Kate Middleton, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, George Clooney and Kate Winstlet, all looked like real life celebrities had come to join an event at the museum.

"Wax figures of Western stars are so real it's almost creepy. I was kind of worried they would suddenly hug me while I was taking a photo with them," said Shi.

Close to fantasy

Another thing that has made media headlines since the Beijing branch opened is the "offensive behavior" of visitors.

Photos of male visitors kissing Marilyn Monroe on the cheek can be seen everywhere on the Internet, and there has been no lack of visitors putting their hands over Monroe's breast as they pose to take photos.

As discussions about whether this behavior is appropriate rage on, I personally think people should relax and not worry about it since one of the purposes of the museum is to bring celebrities closer to the public and entertain fans. For most people, they will never have a chance to see these super stars in real life, let alone taking such intimate photos with them. That's part of the glamour of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

What visitors do need to bear in mind is that these wax figures need to be treated carefully. No matter how close you may want to get, they need to be protected so other visitors can also enjoy them. Since even the slightest touch will damage a wax figure to some extent, if you really love these stars and cherish the hard work of the artists, it would be best to look with your eyes and not with your hands.